Letter: Foreign aid

As we all know sequestration was implemented to cut spending, and as it turned out the administration used it for political purposes to make cuts where it would be felt most by the public. No surprise there.

As we all know sequestration was implemented to cut spending, and as it turned out the administration used it for political purposes to make cuts where it would be felt most by the public. No surprise there.

There was never a discussion of cutting other expenditures that are redundant or totally unnecessary, such as foreign aid. What is so sacred about foreign aid that there is never a serious debate over cutting, or eliminating foreign aid by both parties?

In recent years we have given foreign aid to Mexico and Central America including Cuba and every country in South America, including Venezuela. We have given aid to every country in Africa, all of the Middle East, India and Pakistan. We have given aid to Hamas, who would like nothing more than see us dead. What have we gained from this generosity, nothing but scorn? What we have done is make every tin-horn dictator of most of those countries wealthy. Yasser Arafat, the deceased Palestinian leader, who played both sides against the middle, died a multi-millionaire. His wife is now living in luxury in France

I will never forget the day of the World Trade Center bombing; I watched Palestinians dancing for joy in the streets.

We have been extending aid to numerous countries for years, and they still hate us. Who else, but the U.S. would borrow money to give it away? It is insanity. We are broke.

We were one of the first countries to extend aid to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, and already they are saying they donít want stuff, they want cash. It has come to a point where we are expected to help everyone in the world. Who came to help us in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and Katrina? Nobody, it is time to close the wallet.

When I see severely wounded vets who must rely on the charity of the people of this country to live some semblance of a normal life, and seniors who are not getting the care they need, the orphans who are denied a family, because we are adopting children from foreign countries, the homeless, who live day to day in deplorable conditions, for reasons not of their own doing. I am ashamed.